The recent snows and winds have put the “dead” in dead-of-winter. The weather has been so discouraging, my birding activity has consisted mostly of watching dark-eyed juncos forage under the feeder.
Sadly, they are not accompanied by their usual winter friends — American tree sparrows. I haven’t seen one in my yard yet this year. In a normal winter, up to a dozen would be swarming around my feeder in bad weather.
It’s a good time to dip into the old mailbag. I often get a sense of what readers are experiencing, just by the questions they ask.
For instance, readers have been asking about robins. Yes, they often stay here all winter, although numbers and locations vary. Robins thrive on berries year-round. Even in summer, worms and other invertebrates make up only a part of their diet. In winter, they can go all season just eating fruit.
More Birding with Bob
Robins seem more abundant this winter, perhaps because they have less competition.
Bohemian and cedar waxwings also eat fruit. So do pine grosbeaks. Some years they arrive early in winter, and devour every fruit in sight. But there is plenty of fruit remaining in Canada this year, so northerly-breeding species just didn’t bother to come down yet. Waxwing numbers may still increase, but I doubt the grosbeaks are coming.
Recently, I reported that an American goshawk visited my yard. Since then, I’ve been asked by other readers if the goshawks visiting their yards are rare.
They’re not, but neither are they common. They haunt backyard feeders far less often than their smaller cousins, Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks. Goshawks are so large, they generally chase bigger game, preferring a grouse, squirrel or hare.
I had one question from Ellsworth, wondering which hawk just took a gull from her neighbor’s yard. The hawk promptly flew with its meal through an open barn door, and devoured it inside.
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Would a goshawk do that? Could the smaller Cooper’s hawk take a gull?
We may never know which hawk it was, but there were clues. I suggested that a Cooper’s hawk might struggle with a herring gull, but it could probably subdue a smaller ring-billed gull.
Subsequently, I received word that the gull was, indeed, ring-billed, at least what was left of it.
The reader also reported that the hawk in her barn was more brown than gray, which suggests a Cooper’s hawk.
But for me, the biggest clue was that this reader’s mystery hawk took the gull into the barn. No raptor wants to risk having its prey stolen by a larger raptor or mammal. Not many predators will challenge a ferocious goshawk, but a Cooper’s hawk might feel nervous about prying eyes.
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Years ago, another reader sent me today’s photo of a sharp-shinned hawk shielding a dead songbird with its wings, apparently trying to prevent its meal from being seen by the competition.
Northern shrikes are the only predatory songbirds. They’re about the size of a robin, and agile and ornery enough that they seldom fear attack. I once watched a shrike catch a mouse and then carry it off into dense cover, lest it be stolen by a bigger bully.
I’ve been asked twice this winter if it is possible to have snow buntings under the feeder. It is.
Snow buntings are arctic breeders. In winter, they migrate south, sometimes as far as Maryland.
Maine is a favorite destination, because we have so many large hay fields, blueberry barrens and mudflats that resemble their arctic habitat. They forage in large flocks, counting on wind to scour some of the snow from their food sources. Sometimes, during unfavorable foraging conditions, they will sneak into backyards for a morsel.
More birding with bob
Several readers were quick to tip me off about the presence of a golden eagle in Knox. It’s been seen in the company of bald eagles, scavenging from a famous local compost pile.
Golden eagles are widely distributed in the west, but there are only a handful in the east. None are known to nest in Maine. Some nest in Atlantic Canada. In winter, they head south, looking for greener pastures. Most just migrate right over Maine. Occasionally, one finds an attractive food supply here and lingers for a while.
I also get a sense of what readers are not seeing. It’s been months since anyone has asked if a Carolina wren is possible on their feeders. Yes. They are definitely still moving north, but cold weather can knock them back.
It’s been cold.
